1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to vehicle seating devices for use in a truck bed. More specifically, the present invention describes a permanently built-in tailgate seating option that attaches to the interior side of a vehicle tailgate. The device comprises a bench seat frame having a backrest plate and a seat plate, to which cushions may be attached. The present invention can be deployed during tailgate parties as a bench seat for general use when the tailgate of the vehicle is in a horizontal position, thereby allowing the backrest plate to be opened and accept seated users.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Tailgating is a very popular past time. It is very common to find groups of individuals tailgating at professional sporting events, high school sporting events, county fairs, parades and hunting expeditions. Tailgating is a social activity often associated with outdoor gatherings involving food, friends, drinks and activities prior to or during an event. The very term “tailgating” references the tailgate of a vehicle, whereby individuals utilizes the cargo capacity of the vehicle to carry supplies and setup a temporary gathering place there around for enjoyment and socializing. Individuals may congregate around the bed of a pickup truck or sport utility vehicle to engage in outdoor activities such as barbequing and throwing a sports ball around of some sort while consuming refreshments and food.
Typically the tailgate of the pickup truck or sport utility vehicle is placed in the open configuration providing the gathered individuals with a place to sit. It is very common for individuals to sit on the tailgate of a vehicle during tailgate activities. While the tailgate is a convenient place to sit, it is often uncomfortable because of their rigid construction and hard exterior surface. Alternatives to sitting on the tailgate include sitting in individual folding chairs around the vehicle or on coolers. Unfortunately, individual folding chairs seat only one individual at a time and coolers offer no back support to the individual seated thereupon. A bench-style, padded seat with a back support can seat multiple individuals at once and would offer those seated upon it much needed back support and comfort.
There have been multiple attempts to develop tailgate seating devices that are portable, detachable and meant to be permanently affixed to a tailgate of a vehicle. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,516,193 to Simpson describes a portable, foldable stadium seat device that is capable of seating a single individual. The device is intended to make the seating experience more enjoyable by providing a user with a more comfortable place to sit, as well as to elevate the user slightly higher than he or she would be if sitting on the bench without the use of the Simpson device. The device has a seat and a back rest that folds in half at a junction between the seat and the back rest. The device is designed for attaching to any sort of bench-like seat, including bleachers, tailgates and bench seats. The bottom rear of the device has a small gripping hook that a user will catch on the back edge of the bench surface he or she is attempting to attach the Simpson portable stadium seat thereto. The bottom front of the device has adjustable hooks that catch the front edge of the bench surface, and are adjusted to securely fasten the seat to the bench. The device could further be used on a tailgate when a tailgate is in the open configuration.
Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 6,203,108 to Mattison Jr. describes a portable folding-chair specifically designed to clip onto the tailgate of a pickup truck or sport utility vehicle when the tailgate is in the open configuration. The chair has a bottom seat, a back rest and arm rests on either side and comfortably seats a single individual. The chair sits on top of two clips that grip onto the edge of the tailgate to prevent the chair from moving around while in use. All parts of the chair frame and clips that make physical contact with the truck bed are coated with a scuff-proof material to prevent any damage to the truck bed from the chair resting thereon. The frame of the chair is hollow, making the device very light and easy to carry and manipulate. When not in use, the chair folds upon itself for compact storage of the device during transport.
The Simpson and Mattison Jr. devices are only capable of seating a single individual at one time. Users of these devices must sit isolated from others at the tailgate activity, and only a few of these devices would be able to be attached to a tailgate at one time, limiting the total number of individuals who may utilize the tailgate as a seating option. The present invention offers a bench-style seating device that allows for multiple users to sit on the device at once in close proximity to one another as there are no arm rests to separate or compartmentalize the individual's seating location.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,116,676 to Edwards describes a seating device for use with the tailgate of a vehicle. The device features a pair of seats with a multifunctional arm rest, drink holder and storage compartment in between the two seats. Each seat has a bottom seat and a back support. The seat and back support of the device can be folded down at a pivot axel where the bottom seat meets the back support. Located at the center of the underside of the bottom seat, as well as the backside of the back support, there is an attachment means for connecting a contractual hook to the seat. Contractual hooks are large, broad, flat hooks that attach the seats of the device to the tailgate of the vehicle. Based on the preference of the user, the contractual hooks can either be secured to the backside of the back support of the device and hung on a closed tailgate, or the contractual hooks can be attached to the bottom side of the bottom seat and the device can be clipped onto the tailgate when the tailgate is in the open configuration. The hooks incorporate a tightening mechanism that allows for a user to tighten the hooks, causing the hooks to contract, which, in turn, enhances the grip of the hook on the tailgate, preventing the seats from moving during use.
The Edwards device offers room for two individuals to sit on the device at once. The device is compartmentalized so that each individual using the device has his or her own place to sit, with his or her own arm rests and cup holders. The present invention provides users with a bench-like seating option, which can accommodate more than two individuals at once.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,975,610 to Tracy describes a mountable tailgate seating device. The device is a bench seat that comprises a seat and a back rest and can be mounted to a tail gate and is designed for easy removal from the tail gate if necessary so as not to impede the use of the truck bed and tailgate for other purposes. The device also features a flat plank that is hitched to the top of the back rest portion of the device, which is rotatable. This flat plank may be used as a table-like surface behind the seat, extending in the opposite direction that the seat is facing. The plank has latches on each of the top corners that can be placed in a position where the latches protrude beyond the parameters of the plank, which enables the plank to rest on the upper ledge of the truck bed to form the table-like surface. When the latches are in a closed position, not protruding beyond the parameters of the plank, the plank also serves as a cover for the seat when the tailgate is either in the closed configuration or in the open configuration.
While the Tracy device is intended for mounting to a truck tailgate, the Tracy device does not fold into a compact form. Rather, if the Tracy device is attached to the tailgate while the tailgate is in the closed position, the seat is positioned with the back rest portion of the device within the bed of the truck. The hinged cover plate orients such that it covers the seat of the device, thus occupying a volume of space in the truck bed that cannot be used for other purposes. The present invention mounts to the tailgate of a vehicle, but is capable of folding into a compact and flat closed configuration to reduce the amount of space occupied within the bed of the truck when the tailgate is in the closed position.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,824,186 to Brown describes a foldable seat system for use with the tailgate of a truck bed. The seat is a bench-style seat with a back support and seat, which are hinged together. The device spans the length of the truck tailgate. The device also incorporates a rigid support pole that spans the truck bed, parallel to the tailgate. When the tailgate is down, the device is in the open and useable L-shape position. In the open position, the bottom seat cushion of the device rests on the open tailgate, and the back support cushion of the device rests against the support pole. When the tailgate is vertical and in the closed position, the Brown device folds at the hinge between the back support cushion and the bottom seat cushion into a U-shape and is stored in place at the rear of the truck bed, against the tailgate, by the support pole.
The hinge on the Brown device allows the back support of the device to pivot freely and thus requires that a support pole be installed, in addition to the device, as a means of preventing the back support of the device from opening so widely that the device cannot properly serve as a seat. The support pole either mounts into the truck bed, or, alternatively, the support pole can be a jamb-type pole, meaning the pole is placed in the truck bed and extended by some mechanism until the pole is fixed in place. The Brown device requires both the installation of the bench seat and the support bar, which is time consuming and unnecessary when compared to the operation and construction of the present invention.
The devices in the prior art present several drawbacks. For example, with the exception of the Tracy device, none of the described prior art devices teach a built-in tailgate seating device that is intended to remain permanently thereto, even when not in use. The present invention suggests a frame that is compact so as to not occupy volume within the truck bed when not in use, while allowing the device to remain attached to the interior surface of the tailgate when not in use. This stowed position and the built-in nature of the device requires that no amount of time be spent on the installation and removal of the device before or after each activity. The only installation required in order to use the present invention is the quick attachment of the bottom seat cushion and the back support cushion, wherein this can be accomplished once, and the device may remain in position until the user is ready to deploy the seat back for use.
The present invention therefore substantially diverges in design elements from the prior art, and consequently it is clear there is a need in the art for an improvement to existing built-in tailgate seating devices. In this regard the instant invention substantially fulfills these needs.